Ek Hasina Thi
Encyclopedia
Ek Hasina Thi is a 2004 India
n psychological thriller
film noir
by Sriram Raghavan
, produced by Ram Gopal Varma
, and starring Urmila Matondkar
and Saif Ali Khan
in the lead roles. The screenplay was by Sriram Raghavan and Pooja Ladha Surti. The film got rave reviews and did exceptionally well at the box office.
) meets and falls for a mysterious businessman Karan Rathod (Saif Ali Khan
). After Karan involves Sarika in looking after a suitcase full of illegal firearms belonging to his friend, a hitman, she is arrested for having links with the underworld and is remanded to judicial custody.
Karan sends a defense attorney, Kamalesh Mathur to her, seemingly to fight her case, but he in fact tricks her into confessing that she knew the hitman and was acting of her own free will. The judge sentences her to 7 years hard labour without parole. Sarika then realizes that Karan is actually an associate to the underworld and that he had her framed to keep police eyes away from himself. This realization, soon followed by the death of her father, and the ongoing ordeal of prison life strengthen her and change her approach for life. She starts with trimming her hair short, and then killing the rat in her cell which scared her on her first night in the jail and then beating up a bullying prisoner who asked her to wash her clothes, during that fistfight Sarika receives a scar on her upper lip which is shown throughout the movie. She finally escapes from prison with the help of Pramila, who helps her out with her underworld contacts by providing money and a gun.
Once outside, she begins to plot revenge on Karan. Not only does Sarika want to kill Karan, she wants him to suffer and wants to humiliate and frighten him. First she kills Mathur and throws his body off the balcony of his multi-storeyed flat. Karan remains oblivious to the fact that the murder could have been done by Sarika, even though he knew that she had escaped from prison. He blames the murder on rival gangs. Sarika then books a hotel room immediately next to Karan's and follows him for days. Karan is staying with a new girl in his hotel room, and she watches the couple enjoying their time together.
Next she follows Karan to the house of Sanjeev Nanda, Karan's boss, and secretly watches the latter counting a huge stack of while also rebuking Karan over some unfinished assignment. Soon after Karan walks out of Sanjeev's room, Bilall, an aide of Sanjeev, is shocked to see Sanjeev murdered, and the entire load of cash missing. Karan is naturally assumed to be Sanjeev's murderer and the entire underworld begins to hunt him down. Sarika, whose long patience has paid off, enjoys this moment. Not content with Karan hurt and frightened, Sarika meets Karan when he was trying to elude hitmen sent to kill him. She pretends to be still in love with him, feigns surprise and happiness. She offers him refuge in her hide-out, so that she can enjoy his misery first hand. However Karan later realizes that Sarika was there with him at the hotel, and it leads him to finally realize that Sarika is the person who framed him. Before the police can take him to the police station, he manages to escape during a shoot out.
Karan then takes Sarika forcefully to Sanjeev's elder brother, but Sarika succeeds in convincing the 'gang' about knowing nothing about Sajeev Nanda or anybody or the money and that Karan wants her to accept all the charges of murder and loot to save himself, cleverly escapes and manages to take Karan hostage in his car. She takes him inside a cave, knocks him unconscious and ties him with chains to the rocks. On regaining consciousness, Karan finds himself captive, and Sarika leaving him after telling him that she had searched for days to find such a place for him to die slowly in. She leaves her torchlight. Once the light from the torch goes out, rats come out and begin to attack him, as Karan used to tease Sarika for her fear of the pests. Karan dies a long and painful death. Sarika voluntarily surrenders to the Lady Police Officer searching for her along with the money looted from the 'gang' saying that earlier she was sentenced for nothing, but now she is ready to return to jail since she is satisfied to have killed the persons who had framed her a few years ago and made her a criminal. She finally returns to jail as she has had the pleasure of killing Karan in the manner she desired.
and Zee Cine
award ceremonies, respectively. Matondkar received nominations for Best Actress, including Filmfare Awards
, Star Screen Awards and Zee Cine. Khan received nominations for Best Villain at the Star Screen and Zee Cine Awards.
and other movies. By the time, the film could not sustain at the box office and started fading. Film Makers felt that the title of the movie 'Ek Hasina Thi' gave a wrong impression to viewers as they were expecting an out and out romantic venture. Nevetheless, Ek Hasina Thi did exceptionally well by bringing profits for the production company of Ramgopal Verma called 'Factory'.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
by Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan is an Indian film director and screen writer. He is notable for producing a 45-minute documentary on Indian serial killer Raman Raghav and 2004 Hindi feature film Ek Hasina Thi produced by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan. His second feature film was...
, produced by Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer...
, and starring Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar is an Indian film actress.Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha...
and Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....
in the lead roles. The screenplay was by Sriram Raghavan and Pooja Ladha Surti. The film got rave reviews and did exceptionally well at the box office.
Plot
A travel agent called Sarika (Urmila MatondkarUrmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar is an Indian film actress.Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha...
) meets and falls for a mysterious businessman Karan Rathod (Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....
). After Karan involves Sarika in looking after a suitcase full of illegal firearms belonging to his friend, a hitman, she is arrested for having links with the underworld and is remanded to judicial custody.
Karan sends a defense attorney, Kamalesh Mathur to her, seemingly to fight her case, but he in fact tricks her into confessing that she knew the hitman and was acting of her own free will. The judge sentences her to 7 years hard labour without parole. Sarika then realizes that Karan is actually an associate to the underworld and that he had her framed to keep police eyes away from himself. This realization, soon followed by the death of her father, and the ongoing ordeal of prison life strengthen her and change her approach for life. She starts with trimming her hair short, and then killing the rat in her cell which scared her on her first night in the jail and then beating up a bullying prisoner who asked her to wash her clothes, during that fistfight Sarika receives a scar on her upper lip which is shown throughout the movie. She finally escapes from prison with the help of Pramila, who helps her out with her underworld contacts by providing money and a gun.
Once outside, she begins to plot revenge on Karan. Not only does Sarika want to kill Karan, she wants him to suffer and wants to humiliate and frighten him. First she kills Mathur and throws his body off the balcony of his multi-storeyed flat. Karan remains oblivious to the fact that the murder could have been done by Sarika, even though he knew that she had escaped from prison. He blames the murder on rival gangs. Sarika then books a hotel room immediately next to Karan's and follows him for days. Karan is staying with a new girl in his hotel room, and she watches the couple enjoying their time together.
Next she follows Karan to the house of Sanjeev Nanda, Karan's boss, and secretly watches the latter counting a huge stack of while also rebuking Karan over some unfinished assignment. Soon after Karan walks out of Sanjeev's room, Bilall, an aide of Sanjeev, is shocked to see Sanjeev murdered, and the entire load of cash missing. Karan is naturally assumed to be Sanjeev's murderer and the entire underworld begins to hunt him down. Sarika, whose long patience has paid off, enjoys this moment. Not content with Karan hurt and frightened, Sarika meets Karan when he was trying to elude hitmen sent to kill him. She pretends to be still in love with him, feigns surprise and happiness. She offers him refuge in her hide-out, so that she can enjoy his misery first hand. However Karan later realizes that Sarika was there with him at the hotel, and it leads him to finally realize that Sarika is the person who framed him. Before the police can take him to the police station, he manages to escape during a shoot out.
Karan then takes Sarika forcefully to Sanjeev's elder brother, but Sarika succeeds in convincing the 'gang' about knowing nothing about Sajeev Nanda or anybody or the money and that Karan wants her to accept all the charges of murder and loot to save himself, cleverly escapes and manages to take Karan hostage in his car. She takes him inside a cave, knocks him unconscious and ties him with chains to the rocks. On regaining consciousness, Karan finds himself captive, and Sarika leaving him after telling him that she had searched for days to find such a place for him to die slowly in. She leaves her torchlight. Once the light from the torch goes out, rats come out and begin to attack him, as Karan used to tease Sarika for her fear of the pests. Karan dies a long and painful death. Sarika voluntarily surrenders to the Lady Police Officer searching for her along with the money looted from the 'gang' saying that earlier she was sentenced for nothing, but now she is ready to return to jail since she is satisfied to have killed the persons who had framed her a few years ago and made her a criminal. She finally returns to jail as she has had the pleasure of killing Karan in the manner she desired.
Cast
- Urmila MatondkarUrmila MatondkarUrmila Matondkar is an Indian film actress.Matondkar, who made her screen debut as a child artist in the 1980 film Kalyug, debuted as an adult in Narasimha...
: Sarika Vartak - Saif Ali KhanSaif Ali KhanSaif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....
: Karan Singh Rathod - Seema BiswasSeema BiswasSeema Biswas is an Indian film and theatre actress from Assam who shot into prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen . She has a reputation for performing strong character roles.Biswas won the 1996 National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the film...
: ACP Malti Vaidya - Aditya Srivastava: Adv. Kamlesh Mathur
- Pratima KazmiPratima KazmiPratima Kazmi is an Indian television actress who has worked in many Bollywood movies and Hindi television drama series. Although she now works in Hindi movies & dramas, she started her career in 1997 with an UK's English film called Sixth Happiness, produced by an Indian director Waris Hussein,...
: Prisoner Pramila - Kavita KaushikKavita KaushikKavita Kaushik is an Indian actress known for her character Chandramukhi Chautala from SAB TV serial F.I.R. She is an only child of her parents and her father was a police officer.-Background:...
: Karan's Girlfriend in Delhi - Zakir HussainZakir Hussain (actor)Zakir Hussain is an Indian film and television character actor who is known for his negative and comic roles. His best known performances include those of Rashid in Ramgopal Varma's 2005 film Sarkar, and Shardul in Sriram Raghavan's 2007 film Johnny Gaddaar.-Life and career:Zakir Hussain was born...
: Sanjiv Nanda - Seema Adhikari: Dolly
- Rajendra SethiRajendra SethiRajendra Sethi is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films.He is married to Sushma Sethi. They have two children, daughter Gayantika and Son Sarthak.-Filmography:* Delhi Belly ...Jeweler...
: Sarika's Neighbour - Gopal SinghGopal SinghGopal Singh is a former Speaker of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. He served as speaker in Janata Party rule from 25 September 1979 to 7 July 1980. Gopal Singh belongs to Rajput esrwhile Thakur family of Bhadrajun thikana. He currently looks after affairs of family heritage hotel He was MLA from...
: Abhijeet - Madan Joshi: —
- Abhay Bhargav: —
- Rasika JoshiRasika JoshiRasika Joshi :रसिका जोशी) was a noted Marathi and Hindi film actress. A celebrated Marathi theatre and Indian television actress, she was known for Maharashtrian roleplays in Bollywood movies.-Personal life:...
: —
Awards
Along with other technical nominations, the film won the Best Screenplay and Best Editing at the Star ScreenStar Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
and Zee Cine
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Awards or "ZCA" for short is an awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. It was first held in 1998 in Mumbai. Since then, it has gained substantial popularity as a notable awards ceremony to the Indian population as well as to the viewers of Zee Network.In 2004, the ZCA went...
award ceremonies, respectively. Matondkar received nominations for Best Actress, including Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
, Star Screen Awards and Zee Cine. Khan received nominations for Best Villain at the Star Screen and Zee Cine Awards.
Box Office
EK Hasina Thi opened well in multiplexes and become the no.1 movie of the week it was released in. But in the second week it slipped, facing tough competition from KhakeeKhakee
Khakee is a 2004 Bollywood action film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and written by Santoshi and Shridhar Raghavan about corruption and law and order in India. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Atul Kulkarni, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Rai, Tusshar Kapoor, Tanuja, and...
and other movies. By the time, the film could not sustain at the box office and started fading. Film Makers felt that the title of the movie 'Ek Hasina Thi' gave a wrong impression to viewers as they were expecting an out and out romantic venture. Nevetheless, Ek Hasina Thi did exceptionally well by bringing profits for the production company of Ramgopal Verma called 'Factory'.